The cause of fibromyalgia for years has been theorized, but research is now taking a closer look at a phenomenon called, central sensitization and its link to whiplash type injuries. Central sensitization describes the pain message s being sent to the nervous system become prolonged making the neural cell excited for an extended length of time causing it to become hypersensitive to future pain and pressure stimuli.1Also amplified are stimuli to light, noise, ringing in the ears, bowel and bladder sensations. This causes a secondary change in brain activity where it reacts different to this particular stimuli. What patients will feel could range from:
- Widespread Pain
- Chronic Fatigue
- Sleep disturbance due to pain
- Pain or cramping of the lower abdomen
- Headaches
- Painful menstrual periods
- Numbness or tingling of the extremities
- Restless leg syndrome
- Temperature sensitivity3
The latest breaking research is suggesting that the communication from the brain to spinal cord and then the body is flawed which is different from what was previously thought which was the body was sending misinformation to the spinal cord then the brain.2
Miguel Flores, DC Specialist is an upper cervical specialist that studies the upper neck and has found a link between a misalignment at the C1 or atlas vertebrae and a disruption in the nerve signals going from the brain to the rest of the body. If you have been suffering with fibromyalgia preceded by an accident, injury or fall, it may be causing central sensitization. By correcting the C1 misalignment it will allow the nervous system to restore the communication thereby allowing you to live a healthy life without drugs or surgery.
Woolf C. Central sensitization: Implications for the diagnosis and treatment of pain. Pain. Web. Accessed on 27 August 2015. < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268359/ >.
Guymur, Littlejohn. Letter to the editor. The Journal of Rheumatology. Nov 2014. Web. Accessed on 27 August 2015. < http://www.jrheum.org/content/41/11/2324.full>.
Questions and Answers about Fibromyalgia. National Institute of Arthristis and Musculoskeletal and skin diseases. July 2014. Web. Accessed on 27 August 2015. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_info/Fibromyalgia/default.asp
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